On the river during the Jubilee Pageant

I live next to the river and walk along it often enough that I have never taken a trip in the many tourist boats that ply the Thames, and frankly, thought I never would. Until I was offered a trip to watch the Jubilee Pageant.

Soldiers rehearsing the Diamond Jubilee parade at 4am this morning

No matter how used a soldier is to the ceremonial aspect of their job, a rehearsal of major events is still a good idea – so early this morning, a very large swathe of Westminster was sealed off to road…

The Queen’s “crystal diamond” arrives at the Tower of London

Yesterday evening, just after the last of the tourists were removed (well, almost all of them), a marching band entered the Tower of London, and the Pageantmaster of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Beacons, escorted by Yeomen carried a “crystal diamond”…